Cassette tape recorder with heads mounted on a slide for adjustment

Abstract

A cassette tape recorder in which the magnetic sound-recording heads and the erasing heads are adjusted to rest on the tape by means of a relative displacement towards the cassette, these heads being fitted on to a common slide unit incorporating sensor elements resting on the tape side of the cassette so that the penetration depth of the heads into the cassette will be adjusted automatically.

We claim: 
     
       1. A tape recorder of cassette type having means for positioning a cassette in an operative position with the cassette having a tape side for presenting the tape to the heads of the recorder comprising, in combination, a slide having side edges and a front edge with the the recorder heads mounted on said slide front edge, means for supporting said slide on the recorder for sliding movement towards and away from the tape side of a cassette positioned on the recorder in a horizontal plane substantially parallel to the plane of the cassette and for swiveling movement in said horizontal plane about a vertical axis extending intermediate said slide edges, means for yieldingly urging said slide towards said cassette tape side and stop means on said slide front edge engageable with said cassette tape side to position said heads in an accurately aligned, operative position with respect to said cassette. 
     
     
       2. A tape recorder in accordance with claim 1, wherein said urging means comprises a spring, said spring having one end connected to said recorder and the other end to said slide. 
     
     
       3. A tape recorder in accordance with claim 2, including means on the recorder for releasably retaining said slide away from a cassette in said operative position against the urging force of said spring. 
     
     
       4. A recorder in accordance with claim 1, wherein the means for positioning the cassette include a plurality of guide pins on the recorder, a plurality of apertures in the cassette for accommodating said guide pins in said operative position of the cassette and wherein said urging means additionally urge said cassette against said guide pins through said slide. 
     
     
       5. A tape recorder in accordance with claim 4, wherein said stop means are disposed on said slide front edge in aligned relationship with said guide pins. 
     
     
       6. A recorder in accordance with claim 1, wherein said stop means are disposed on said slide front edge adjacent said heads. 
     
     
       7. A tape recorder in accordance with claim 6, wherein said stop means are formed integrally with at least one of said heads. 
     
     
       8. A tape recorder in accordance with claim 1, wherein said means for supporting said slide on the recorder comprise a plurality of horizontally extending, laterally spaced rods supported on said recorder in perpendicular relationship with said cassette tape side, said slide having a plurality of slots for slidably accommodating said rods to permit said sliding and swiveling movement of said slide. 
     
     
       9. A tape recorder in accordance with claim 8, wherein said plurality of slots includes a pair of horizontally extending slots, each adjacent one of said slide side edges and a horizontally extending slot intermediate said pair of slots and wherein said slide is provided with a vertically extending slot defining said slide vertical axis for said swiveling movement and disposed in aligned relationship with said intermediate slot with one of said plurality of rods extending through said intermediate slot and said vertically extending slot. 
     
     
       10. A tape recorder in accordance with claim 1, wherein said vertical axis for said slide swiveling movement is disposed centrally intermediate said stop means. 
     
     
       11. A tape recorder in accordance with claim 1, including at least one boss on the recorder for stopping engagement with said slide to limit the forward movement of said slide by said urging means in the absence of a cassette on the recorder, said boss being disposed on said recorder out of the path of movement of said slide for engagement with a cassette in said operative position. 
     
     
       12. A tape recorder in accordance with claim 1, wherein said stop means are fixedly mounted on said slide in a predetermined position relative to said heads.